Extend your layover, get out of the airport and make your way into Moscow, Manila, Singapore and Dubai with our special Time Out guide.
Connections If you’re visiting any one of the Philippines’ 7,000-plus islands, there’s a high chance you’ll fly through its capital. Air China, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air all fly direct from Beijing to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, with the two local carriers offering dozens of connecting domestic flights. Look out for Cebu’s deals: Beijing-Manila flights start from as little as 1,376RMB return!
Stay a while Many people are put off by Manila’s scary reputation, but stick to the historic district of Intramuros (also known as the ‘Walled City’ thanks to its wellpreserved defenses) and you’ll find a full or half day’s perusal of the area to be highly enjoyable.
With Old Manila Walks (www.oldmanilawalks.com), you’ll be accompanied by one of Asia’s most knowledgeable guides for around 150RMB per person. You’ll tramp along Intramuros’s walls and through its churches and historic buildings, as Ivan Man Dy leads you through the city’s fascinating history. Expect to pick up such pub quiz gems as the fact that in 1898 America ‘bought’ the Philippines from Spain, along with Cuba, Guam and Puerto Rico for just 20 million USD.
Intramuros is also small enough to go it alone. If you do, don’t miss the restored colonial home Casa Manila. You can also pick up a good map here and walk to the Unesco-listed San Agustin Church, with its memorial to the thousands of civilians who lost their lives in an eight-day siege that took place during World War II, when the Japanese and the Americans wrestled for control of the citadel.
The details Most nationalities (Chinese nationals sadly excluded) can stay in the Philippines for 21 days without a visa (for current guidelines, visit tinyurl.com/philippinesvisa). The airport is just 14km from Intramuros and this trip by taxi shouldn’t cost more than 20RMB (make sure it’s on the meter). The bad news is that during rush hour or any kind of downpour the city’s traffic is even worse than in Beijing, so allow yourself at least an hour to travel between the two. There’s a Marriott hotel near the terminals, but if you’re looking for a cheaper option with character, try Chill-Out Guesthouse (www.manila-guesthouse.com; dorms start from 45RMB, private doubles from 115RMB). Located in Ermita, just south of Intramuros, this neat little hostel is upstairs from a great, non-seedy Thai massage place. Gabrielle Jaffe
Connections With flights heading to over 200 cities across Europe, North America and Asia, Singapore’s Changi Airport is one of the region’s biggest hubs for fliers. Singapore Airlines, Air China and Jetstar all fly here direct from Beijing daily.
Stay a while Singapore is a food lover’s heaven, with hawker centres, coffee shops and restaurants on every corner. Its rich culinary scene blends traditions from the diverse ethnic communities that call the island home, as Chinese and Indian spices meet fresh Malay ingredients in multiple combinations.
Locals will tell you that the best food is found in humble mom-andpop hawker centres. Head to Maxwell Road Food Centre (on the corner of South Bridge Road and Maxwell Road) and sample delicious Hainan chicken rice at Tian Tian (No 11), pan-fried carrot cake at Jin Ji Mei Shi (No 96) and a bowl of creamy fish porridge at Zhen Zhen (No 54). Wash it all down with a tall glass of refreshing lime juice at stall No 848.
If you have time later, make a reservation at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant (www.longbeachseafood.com.sg) for its signature Singaporean chilli and black pepper crab. And no visit to Singapore is complete without a stop at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, birthplace of the iconic Singapore Sling, a refreshing concoction of gin, cherry liqueur and pineapple juice.
The details With the notable exceptions of China, India and Russia, many nationalities can stay in Singapore without a visa for up to 30 days (for current guidelines, visit www.ica.gov.sg). If you are travelling from the ‘budget’ terminal with airlines such as Tiger Airways, be aware that you will have to go through the arrivals customs and check your luggage back in again. All other terminals allow you to transfer your baggage straight through. Luggage can be stored at the airport for prices starting from 16RMB for 24 hours. Singapore has an excellent public transport system. With the MRT rail system, for example, you can arrive in Chinatown from the airport in less than an hour. Check www.gothere.sg for the fastest routes and prices by bus, MRT and taxi. For accommodation that’s more ‘flashpacker’ than backpacker, try the gorgeously designed Wink Hostel (near Maxwell Road Food Centre; www.winkhostel.com). The ‘pods’ here offer a far better night’s sleep than you’ll get in most dorms (single ‘pods’ from 250RMB). Jenny Gao
Connections If you’re flying to Europe, the Americas or India from Beijing, travelling with Emirates will offer you a stopover in its bombastic home city of Dubai. The airline is also launching connecting flights to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires on Tuesday 3, and a Dublin route on Monday 9. Air China, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines likewise fly direct to Dubai International Airport from Beijing.
Stay a while After being cramped in a plane for hours, you might want to stretch your legs in the great outdoors. Luckily Dubai has got all that and more in its many dunes. Arabian Adventures (www.arabianadventures.com) will take you out to the dunes for camel riding, sandboarding, desert-driving or a mix of all three from 600RMB. But if you’re bored of sand, or if you’re strapped for time, why not set off on a ‘building safari’ instead?
In the heady days of 2007, Dubai’s constant influx of foreign money and its near-psychotic obsession with modernity led to the construction of not one, but two faux Chrysler Buildings. You’ll find them, along with other fine architectural examples of nouveau-riche ambition, stretched along the city-spanning Sheikh Zayed Road. Your first stop on this monster highway should be, naturally, the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building. The strange sight of skyscrapers rising above the mist makes a trip up to the top worth it on a foggy day, but otherwise, it’s expensive to enter and Dubai looks far less impressive from the air, so crane your neck upwards instead.
Next, pop into Dubai Mall, which contains an 11-metre-deep aquarium (86RMB), then continue to Mall of the Emirates, where you can go skiing or snowboarding on indoor slopes (310RMB for two hours, including snowsuit and equipment rental).
Further along Sheikh Zayed, you’ll find the famous ‘seven-star’ Burj Al Arab hotel –you won’t be able to get in unless you’re staying there, so settle for neighbouring Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s Uptown Bar, which offers some spectacular vistas of the city’s phallic skyline.
The details Most Western citizens can get a free visa on arrival; others may have to apply for a paid-for visa in advance through a UAE sponsor (for guidelines, see tinyurl.com/dubaivisa). Only terminals 2 and 3 have left-luggage facilities, with storage starting from 34RMB for 12 hours. A round trip in a taxi from the airport to Burj Al Arab and back costs around 250RMB. Line 1 of the Dubai Metro will also take you from the airport along Sheikh Zayed Road for 3-14RMB per trip, depending on the distance. If staying near the airport is key, try the Al Bustan Rotana (www.rotana.com; from 830RMB for a single room). Otherwise, the Dubai Youth Hostel (www.uaeyha.com) can put you up from 170RMB (dorm beds) or 330RMB (private single room). James Wilkinson
Connections Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, offers cheap (albeit no-frills) flights from Beijing transferring via Moscow. Flights to London on this route start from 6,300RMB return, including taxes. Most flights from Beijing to Moscow, including those with Air China, Hainan Airlines and Aeroflot, land in Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Stay a while With a winter that lasts four months and temperatures that rarely rise above 0?C, Moscow is in much need of indoor entertainment for its citizens. Thankfully, the city doesn’t lack for a host of cultural divertissements.
In particular, it boasts not one, but three stellar art institutions. Tretyakov State Gallery (www.tretyakovgallery.ru) is the place to go for Russian masters, from gallant portraits of tsars and tsarinas spanning from the 16th to the 19th century, all the way up to Wassily Kandinsky and beyond. The gallery also has a beautiful gift shop where you can buy reasonably priced Russian crafts (nice stuff, not the normal fridge magnet tat).
Located opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (www.artsmuseum.ru) is Moscow’s answer to the Louvre. Behind the neo-classical columns of the main building, you will find treasures from ancient Egypt and Troy, Renaissance Italy and the Dutch Golden Age. Down the road, in the new wing, are some of the world’s best examples of impressionist and post-impressionist artwork from the likes of van Gogh, Gauguin and Matisse. And if contemporary art is more your thing, take a gander around the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (www.mmoma.ru), which features installations aplenty, as well as modern masters such as Picasso.
If you’ve got the money to spare, don’t miss the grande dame of Moscow, the Bolshoi Theatre, which recently reopened after six years of renovations to restore it to its pre- Soviet era opulence. The theatre itself is almost as stunning as the ballet and opera performances that are held inside it. And if you want to hang out with the culture crowd after hours, head to ArteFAQ (ul Bolshaya Dmitrovka 32, near Chekhovskaya metro station). Part restaurant, part club, part gallery and open 24 hours, this culture lover’s institution is buzzing and full of creative types.
All of the above venues and galleries are accessible by the metro –which is likably cheap –while the stations themselves are some of the most beautiful you’ll ever see.
The details Most nationalities will need a visa to visit Russia (visit www.russia-tourism.ru/visa.php) and, in some cases, they can take up to two months to organise – so plan well in advance. At Sheremetyevo International Airport, luggage storage is available from 40RMB for 24 hours. A special express train will take you to Belorussky Station (conveniently positioned on the brown circle and dark green metro lines) in the city centre in 35 minutes for 70RMB. There’s a Novotel hotel by the airport, but Taganka Hostel (www.tagankahostel.ru) is clean, pretty, situated in a great central location and offers dorm beds from 125RMB and private singles from 700RMB. Clare Pennington
Photos: Jenny Gao, Phil McGovern (www.interactivelandrover.me), Gabrielle Jaffe
For more tips and destination advice, see 'Make the most of your layovers'